Bush tucker

Bush tucker, also called bushfood, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by the original inhabitants, the Aboriginal Australians, but it can also describe any native fauna or flora used for culinary and/or medicinal purposes, regardless of the continent or culture. Examples of Australian native animal foods (meats) include kangaroo, emu and crocodile. In particular, kangaroo is quite common and can be found in Australian supermarkets, often cheaper than beef. Other animals, for example goanna and witchetty grubs, were eaten by Aboriginal Australians. Fish and shellfish are culinary features of the Australian coastal communities.

Examples of Australian native plant foods include the fruits quandong, kutjera, muntries, riberry, Davidson's plum, and finger lime. Native spices include lemon myrtle, mountain pepper, and aniseed myrtle. A popular leafy vegetable is warrigal greens. Nuts include bunya nut, and the most identifiable bush tucker plant harvested and sold in large-scale commercial quantities is the macadamia nut. Knowledge of Aboriginal uses of fungi is meagre but beefsteak fungus and native "bread" (a fungus also), were certainly eaten.

Traditional Aboriginal use

Aboriginal Australians have eaten native animal and plant foods for an estimated 60,000 years of human habitation on the Australian continent (see Indigenous Australian food groups, Australian Aboriginal sweet foods). Various traditional methods of processing and cooking are used. Toxic seeds, such as Cycas media and Moreton Bay chestnut, are processed to remove the toxins and render them safe to eat. Many foods are also baked in the hot campfire coals, or baked for several hours in ground ovens. "Paperbark", the bark of Melaleuca species, is widely used for wrapping food placed in ground ovens. Bush bread was made by males using many types of seeds, nuts and corns to process a flour or dough to make bread.

Aboriginal traditional native food use has been severely impacted by non-indigenous immigration since 1788, especially in the more densely colonised areas of south-eastern Australia. There, the introduction of non-native foods to Aboriginals has resulted in an almost complete abandonment of native foods by Aboriginals. This impact on traditional foods has been further accentuated by the loss of traditional lands which has resulted in reduced access to native foods by Aboriginals and destruction of native habitat for agriculture.

The recent recognition of the nutritional and gourmet value of native foods by non-indigenous Australians is introducing native cuisine to many for the first time. However, there are unresolved intellectual property issues associated with the commercialisation of bush tucker.

Colonial use

Bush tucker provided a source of nutrition to the non-indigenous colonial settlers, often supplementing meager rations. However, bushfoods were often considered to be inferior by colonists unfamiliar with the new land's food ingredients, generally preferring familiar foods from their homelands.

In the 19th century English botanist, J.D. Hooker, writing of Australian plants in Flora of Tasmania, remarked although "eatable," are not "fit to eat". In 1889, botanist Joseph Maiden reiterated this sentiment with the comment on native food plants "nothing to boast of as eatables."^[1] The first monograph to be published on the flora of Australia reported the lack of edible plants on the first page, where it presented Billardiera scandens as, "... almost the only wild eatable fruit of the country".^[2]

This became the accepted view of Australian native food plants until the late 20th Century. It is thought that these early assessments were a result of encountering strong flavours not generally suitable for out-of-hand eating, but these strong flavours are now highly regarded for culinary use.

The only Australian native plant food developed and cropped on a large scale is the macadamia nut, with the first small-scale commercial plantation being planted in Australia in the 1880s. Subsequently, Hawaii was where the macadamia was commercially developed to its greatest extent from stock imported from Australia.

Modern use

In the 1970s non-indigenous Australians began to recognise the previously overlooked native Australian foods. Textbooks like Wildfoods in Australia by the botanist couple Cribb & Cribb were popular. In the late 1970s horticulturists started to assess native food-plants for commercial use and cultivation.

In 1980 South Australia legalised the sale of kangaroo meat for human consumption. Analysis showed that a variety of bushfoods were exceptionally nutritious.^[3] In the mid-1980s several Sydney restaurants began using native Australian ingredients in recipes more familiar to non-indigenous tastes – providing the first opportunity for bushfoods to be tried by non-indigenous Australians on a serious gourmet level. This led to the realisation that many strongly flavoured native food plants have spice-like qualities.

Following popular TV programs on "bush tucker", a surge in interest in the late 1980s saw the publication of books like Bushfood: Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine by Jennifer Isaacs, The Bushfood Handbook and Uniquely Australian by Vic Cherikoff, and Wild Food Plants of Australia by Tim Low.

Bush tucker ingredients were initially harvested from the wild, but cultivated sources have become increasingly important to provide sustainable supplies for a growing market, with some Aboriginal communities also involved in the supply chain. However, despite the industry being founded on Aboriginal knowledge of the plants, Aboriginal participation in the commercial sale of bush tucker is currently still marginal, and mostly at the supply end of value chains. Organisations are working to increase Aboriginal participation in the bush tucker market. Gourmet style processed food and dried food have been developed for the domestic and export markets.

The term "bushfood" is one of several terms describing native Australian food, evolving from the older-style "bush tucker" which was used in the 1970s and 1980s.

Media

TV shows made use of the bush tucker theme. Malcolm Douglas was one of the first presenters to show how to 'live off the land' in the Australian Outback. Major Les Hiddins, a retired Australian Army soldier popularised the idea of bush tucker as an interesting food resource. He presented a hit TV series called The Bush Tucker Man on the ABC TV network in the late 1980s. In the series, Hiddins demonstrated his research for NORFORCE in identifying foods which might sustain or augment army forces in the northern Australian Outback. 'NORFORCE' is a Regional Force Surveillance Unit of the Australian Army Reserve.

In early 2003, the first cooking show featuring authentic Australian foods and called Dining Downunder was produced by Vic Cherikoff and Bailey Park Productions of Toronto, Canada. This was followed by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) production of Message Stick with Aboriginal chef, Mark Olive.

Ray Mears recently made a survival television series called Ray Mears Goes Walkabout which focused on the history of survival in Australia, with a focus on bush tucker. In the series, Les Hiddins was a guest in one episode, with the two men sharing their knowledge and discussing various aspects of bush tucker.

In the TV survival series "Survivorman" host and narrator, Les Stroud, spend time in the Australian outback, after successfully finding and eating a witchetty grub raw he found many more and cooked them, stating they were much better cooked. After cooking in hot embers of his fire, he removed the head and the hind of the grub and squeezed out thick yellow liquid before eating.

Native Australian food-plants listed by culinary province and plant part

Australian bush tucker plants can be divided into several distinct and large regional culinary provinces. Please note, some species listed grow across several climatic boundaries.

Top-end

Monsoonal zone of the Northern Territory, Cape York and North-western Australia.

Fruits

Adansonia gregorii	Boab
Buchanania arborescens
Citrus gracilis	Kakadu Lime
Eugenia carissoides	Cedar Bay Cherry
Ficus racemosa	Cluster Fig
Manilkara kaukii	Wongi
Melastoma affine	Blue Tongue
Mimusops elengi	Tanjong
Morinda citrifolia	Great Morinda
Physalis minima	Native Gooseberry
Terminalia ferdinandiana	Kakadu Plum
Syzygium erythrocalyx	Johnstone's River Satinash
Syzygium fibrosum	Fibrous Satinash
Syzygium suborbiculare	Lady Apple

Vegetables

Dioscorea alata	Purple yam
Dioscorea bulbifera	Round yam
Dioscorea transversa	Pencil yam, Long yam
Eleocharis spp.	Spikerush
Ipomoea aquatica	Water spinach
Nelumbo nucifera	lotus
Nymphaea macrosperma	water lily

Nuts

Cycas media	Cycad palm seeds (Require detoxification: see Bush bread )
Semecarpus australiensis	Australian Cashew
Terminalia catappa	Sea Almond

Spices

Eucalyptus staigeriana	Lemon Ironbark
Melaleuca leucadendra	Weeping Paperbark
Melaleuca viridiflora	Kitcha-kontoo
Ocimum tenuiflorum	Native Basil

Outback Australia

Arid and semi-arid zones of the low rainfall interior.

Fruits

Capparis spp.	Native Caper, Caperbush
Capparis mitchelii	Wild orange
Capparis spinosa subsp. nummularia	Wild passionfruit
Carissa lanceolata	Bush plum, Conkerberry
Citrus glauca	Desert Lime
Enchylaena tomentosa	Ruby Saltbush
Ficus platypoda	Desert Fig
Marsdenia australis	Doubah, Bush Banana
Owenia acidula	Emu Apple
Santalum acuminatum	Quandong, Desert or Sweet Quandong
Santalum murrayanum	Bitter Quandong
Solanum centrale	Akudjura, Australian Desert Raisin, Bush tomato
Solanum cleistogarnum	Bush tomato
Solanum ellipticum	Bush tomato

Vegetables

Calandrinia balonensis	Parakeelya
Ipomoea costata	Bush potato
Vigna lanceolata	Pencil Yam
Lepidium spp.	Peppercresses
Portulaca intraterranea	Large Pigweed

Seeds

Acacia aneura	Mulga
Acacia colei
Acacia coriacea	Dogwood
Acacia holosericea	Strap Wattle
Acacia kempeana	Witchetty Bush
Acacia murrayana
Acacia pycnantha
Acacia retinodes
Acacia tetragonophylla	Dead finish seed
Acacia victoriae	Gundabluey, Prickly wattle
Brachychiton populneus	Kurrajong
Panicum decompositum	native millet
Portulaca oleracea	Pigweed
Triodia spp.	commonly known as spinifex

Spices

Eucalyptus polybractea

Blue-leaved Mallee

Insects in gall

• Bush coconut
• Mulga apple

Eastern Australia

Subtropical rainforests of New South Wales to the wet tropics of Northern Queensland.

Fruit

Acronychia acidula	Lemon Aspen
Acronychia oblongifolia	White Aspen
Antidesma bunius	Herbet River Cherry
Archirhodomyrtus beckleri	Rose Myrtle
Austromyrtus dulcis	Midyim
Carpobrotus glaucescens	Pigface
Citrus australasica	Finger Lime
Citrus australis	Dooja
Davidsonia jerseyana	New South Wales Davidson's Plum
Davidsonia johnsonii	Smooth Davidsonia
Davidsonia pruriens	North Queensland Davidson's Plum
Diploglottis campbellii	Small-leaf Tamarind
Eupomatia laurina	Bolwarra
Ficus coronata	Sandpaper Fig
Melodorum leichhardtii	Zig Zag Vine
Pleiogynium timoriense	Burdekin Plum
Podocarpus elatus	Illawarra Plum
Planchonella australis	Black Apple
Rubus moluccanus	Broad-leaf Bramble
Rubus probus	Atherton Raspberry
Rubus rosifolius	Rose-leaf Bramble
Syzygium australe	Brush Cherry
Syzygium luehmannii	Riberry
Syzygium paniculatum	Magenta Lilly Pilly
Ximenia americana	Yellow Plum

Vegetable

Apium prostratum	Sea Celery
Commelina cyanea	Scurvy Weed
Geitonoplesium cymosum	Scrambling Lily
Tetragonia tetragonoides	Warrigal Greens
Trachymene incisa	Wild Parsnip
Urtica incisa	Scrub Nettle

Spices

Alpinia caerulea	Native Ginger
Backhousia citriodora	Lemon Myrtle
Backhousia myrtifolia	Cinnamon Myrtle
Leptospermum liversidgei	Lemon Tea-tree
Prostanthera incisa	Cut-leaf Mintbush
Smilax glyciphylla	Sweet Sarsaparilla
Syzygium anisatum	Aniseed Myrtle
Tasmannia stipitata	Dorrigo pepper (leaf and pepperberry)

Nut

Araucaria bidwillii	Bunya Nut
Athertonia diversifolia	Atherton Almond
Macadamia integrifolia	Macadamia Nut
Macadamia tetraphylla	Bush Nut
Sterculia quadrifida	Peanut Tree

Temperate Australia

Warm and cool temperate zones of southern Australia, including Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and the highlands of New South Wales.

Fruit

Acrotriche depressa	Native Currant
Billardiera cymosa	Sweet Apple-berry
Billardiera longiflora	Purple Apple-berry
Billardiera scandens	Common Apple-berry
Carpobrotus rossii	Karkalla
Exocarpus cupressiformis	Native Cherry
Gaultheria hispida	Snow Berry
Kunzea pomifera	Muntries
Rubus parvifolius	Pink-flowered Native Raspberry
Sambucus gaudichaudiana	White Elderberry

Seed

Acacia longifolia	Golden Rods
Acacia sophorae	Coast Wattle

Spice

Eucalyptus dives	Peppermint Gum
Eucalyptus olida	Strawberry Gum
Eucalyptus globulus	Tasmanian Blue Gum
Mentha australis	River Mint
Prostanthera rotundifolia	Native Thyme
Tasmannia lanceolata	Mountain pepper
Tasmannia stipitata	Dorrigo Pepper

Vegetable

Apium insulare	Flinders Island Celery
Atriplex cinerea	Grey Saltbush
Burchardia umbellata	Milkmaids
Eustrephus latifolius	Wombat berry
Microseris lanceolata	Murnong

See also

• Australian Aboriginal sweet foods
• Bush bread
• Bushfood industry history
• Bushmeat
• Bush medicine
• Damper (food)
• Indigenous Australian food groups
• Country food (equivalent term in Canada)

References

Footnotes

Notations

• Bruneteau, Jean-Paul, Tukka, Real Australian Food, ISBN 0-207-18966-8.
• Cherikoff, Vic, The Bushfood Handbook, ISBN 0-646-15496-6.
• Isaacs, Jennifer, Bushfood, Weldons, Sydney.
• Kersh, Jennice and Raymond, Edna's Table, ISBN 0-7336-0539-7.
• Low, Tim, Wild Food Plants of Australia, ISBN 978-0-207-14383-0

External links

• Bush Tucker in the northern Tropics of Australia
• Popular Native Foods from Australian Flavour
• www.indigenousaustralia.info – The Travel Around Company
• Australian Bushfood and Native Medicine Forum
• Australian Bushfood Recipes
• Aboriginal women's knowledge
• CSIRO plant profiles
• Site of an industry pioneer
• Bushfoods Magazine
• Eat Australia
• Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre
• Australian Bush Survival website with book recommendations